On one hand, I’m thinking “Ooooh, sexxxxxxy!” about the Mercedes-Benz F 015 prototype self-driving car. Who wouldn’t want to step into the lap of luxury and glide to their destination without touching the wheel or hell, worrying about driving at all? You want to spin around in your seat and have a conversation about last night’s TV shows with your carpool mates? Maybe even watch that episode on the way to work or wherever on those fancy digital doors? A few taps of the touchscreen and you’re there. Granted, this futuristic ride of indeterminate (but exorbitant) price point at least requires someone who can hold a license and take the wheel if necessary. So you won’t see a bunch of schoolkids packed inside by lazy parents who want to shift their chauffeuring responsibilities to the car and be done with them until the brood leaves home for college.

On the other hand…

(Thanks, Orthver!) 

I’m getting a total Total Recall flashback, big time…

Okay, okay – that’s a wee bit harsh considering all the work Mercedes-Benz has done in making that fancy car of theirs work as well as it does. As you can see below, the company has really been hard at work perfecting their autonomous driving car and expects to have one for sale sooner than later. If everything in that first video isn’t hype, you’ll get a car that’s polite to jaywalkers and even creates a crosswalk for them after it doesn’t run them over. That’s progress!

However… as a resident of New York City, I know that fancy ride will be in for a real workout. Especially in the crazy stop-start traffic we have here coupled with the people who defensively drive vehicles with dings and dents that are seen badges of Monday morning (no, every morning) rush hour pride. I’m thinking maybe Mercedes needs to take that thing back to the drawing board and work in a flight mode of some sort. Hell, if you’re going to be rolling around in a car that’s a cut above the rest, you may as well BE a cut above the rest, right?

(Thanks, Martin T!)

Well, I’m gathering that self-driving tech will be coming to the economy car-owning masses as well, but I’ll probably be staying inside a lot more often when that takes place. There’s nothing like a road packed with autonomous rides all deciding to go somewhere else once some black hatted hack-meister feels he or she needs to get some “lulz”…